Wife Of Oceanside’s Police Chief Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — The wife of Oceanside police chief and former Cypress City Councilman Frank McCoy was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison for shooting at police during a 2010 standoff.

Brinda McCoy, 49, struck a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid being sentenced to 29 years in prison. Prosecutors agreed to adjust the charges against her so the judge would have leeway to hand down a lesser charge.

McCoy was convicted June 18 of five counts of assault on a police officer for firing a gun from her Cypress home during the standoff. A sentencing enhancement found true by jurors meant that she faced a minimum punishment of 25 years and Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno had no flexibility to adjust it.

Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri, however, took into account McCoy’s suicide attempt days after her conviction, plus her career as a nurse and that her son and daughters have gone on to careers in public service when she struck a deal with McCoy and her attorney.

McCoy’s attorney, Lew Rosenblum, who declined to comment after the hearing, agreed to drop a motion for a new trial and any appeals.